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Norfolk Rail Prospectus 2013

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Norfolk Rail Prospectus 2013 Norfolk Rail Prospectus January 2013 If you need this report in large print, audio, Braille, alternative format or in a different language please contact 0344 800 8020 and ask for David Cumming or textphone 0344 800 8011 and we will do our best to help. Norfolk Rail Prospectus Foreword Norfolk’s Prospectus The Future of Rail Today Foreword by Cllr Graham Plant Norfolk County Council Cabinet Member for Planning and Transportation I am pleased to present this rail prospectus for Norfolk. For too long Norfolk has been at the end of the line for rail investment, despite it being clear that improvements are needed so to boost the county’s economic prospects. However, I believe that this picture is changing. MPs from across East Anglia have supported us – with other local authorities and the Local Enterprise Partnerships – in our overarching vision for rail; set out in the Greater Anglia Rail Prospectus. The rail industry is beginning to take notice and is working with us on developing and delivering various improvements across the area. The coalition government too, is listening. We were extremely pleased that their recent statement (on HLOS, the High Level Output Specification) included money for an upgrade to rail infrastructure in Ely, a crucial junction in the rail network for passenger and freight services out of the county. The overarching prospectus for the Anglia region included our priorities: faster journey times, with more capacity, between London and Norwich; half hourly journeys from London to King’s Lynn; and half hourly journeys between the great university cities of Cambridge and Norwich. The Norfolk Rail Prospectus set out here takes these as a starting point because we agree with these as priorities for the county. This Prospectus however provides the detail on our requirements across the whole county. All users of the rail network will know what needs doing. We need our trains to be reliable so that we can set off on a journey with confidence of getting to our destination on time. We all understand that, on occasion, things can go wrong, but all too often it seems as though this is the norm. We also want clean, smart and modern trains. There is nothing worse for someone who than having to travel long distances on slow trains clearly needing major refurbishment or replacement. Or seeing shabby, unstaffed train stations often lacking bus connections or with poor walking routes to the town centre. We have what many are calling a ‘once in a lifetime’ opportunity to dramatically shape rail services. Our prospectus will feed into ongoing government decision-making over the next few months. Crucial decisions will be taken about the five-year spending programme (2014-19) on track infrastructure, and government will be reletting the franchises to decide which train companies run the services in and out of the county. These are major, i Norfolk Rail Prospectus Foreword important decisions that will shape the quality and frequency of train services for a number of years to come. Our prospectus sets out for the first time our detailed requirements for rail. We have been working on many of these for some time, but setting them out clearly in one document will make our priorities clear for everyone. The prospectus sets out what we see as vital for delivery in the short term, which things need to be developed now for delivery in the medium term and what we see as things that could perhaps be left to the longer-term. Our prospectus is based on evidence. We have worked with the rail industry and commissioned studies to make sure that our requirements are needed, realistic and deliverable. Amongst other studies commissioned include work by Atkins on the Great Eastern Mainline, which outlined some £2.5bn of economic benefits from delivering more capacity and faster journeys on the line. Subsequent work has identified potential solutions for how this might be delivered. These studies were commissioned by a group including the New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership and local authorities along the route. We also worked with local authorities in the west of the region on studies to identify passenger demand and economic benefits from improvements to King’s Lynn to Cambridge, and Norwich to Cambridge, services. We consulted on the prospectus at the end of 2012, receiving a very positive response and have accommodated a number of the suggestions made in this final version, which was agreed by Norfolk County Council’s Cabinet on 28 January 2013. We will now use the prospectus in our work with the rail industry and government to illustrate how we feel the rail network needs to develop to meet the needs of the county: to ensure and stimulate economic and housing growth, and accommodate the inevitable increase in travel arising from an increasing population. The prospectus covers all lines and stations in Norfolk. It also identifies constraints outside of the county, such as at Ely, which is a major crossroads for services out of Norfolk to the west. All of the enhancements set out in this prospectus are needed, and we believe they should be achievable in the periods asked. Upgrading these constraints will improve passengers’ experiences, as well as help us deliver our Economic Growth Strategy and bring more jobs and increase our prosperity. Graham Plant Cabinet Member for Planning and Transportation ii Norfolk Rail Prospectus Executive Summary Executive Summary Introduction Rail is vitally important to the county. It provides links for business and leisure trips to the capital, to Cambridge and other major centres elsewhere. Rail also serves an important commuting link, especially into Norwich via the Bittern and Wherry Lines – from Sheringham and Great Yarmouth / Lowestoft respectively. We have seen a remarkable sustained growth in passengers using the railway; even during the recent economic downturn passenger numbers seem to have held up. Looking into the future, there is no reason to believe that numbers using the trains won’t continue to increase. The population of Norfolk is forecast to carry on growing and there is a large amount of housing and jobs growth planned in the county. Allied to the fact that people are becoming increasingly mobile, travelling further for leisure trips or into work, we expect rail use to increase. This will put further strain on a system that, at times, is already close to or at capacity. The county council works closely with the rail industry, stakeholders and rail users and well understands the existing issues and the pressures likely to surface in the future. We have also commissioned a number of technical studies to provide evidence to underpin this prospectus, and analyse the need for, and benefits arising from, improvements. This prospectus sets out what we feel is required to make sure that rail can serve the needs and expectations of passengers, and to ensure that it continues to support Norfolk’s economy and helps deliver the housing and jobs growth planned. We have categorised our priorities as short, medium and long term: • Short: Achievable in the next rail spending period (known as Control Period five) 2014-19 • Medium: Work to start within the short term to allow delivery within the period of the next round of franchise renewals and Control Period six; ie before the mid 2020s • Long: Work to start within the medium term to allow delivery post the mid 2020s. Our priorities include: • Faster journey times, more capacity and better quality travel experience Norwich-London • ½ hourly frequencies King’s Lynn to London and Norwich to Cambridge • Earliest and latest trains on each route • Details about the individual improvements required at each station. Priorities include refurbishment of Great Yarmouth station and environs, and accessibility improvements at Wymondham and Thetford iii Norfolk Rail Prospectus Executive Summary • Priorities for new infrastructure include new track capacity at Ely and on the Norwich to London route, a new station in the vicinity of Broadland Business Park and feasibility work to look at – in the longer term – new passenger services between Cambridge and Oxford, and Dereham and Wymondham. iv Norfolk Rail Prospectus Executive Summary Across the network The Essentials Headlines • Step-free access to all platforms • Stations to be kept in good repair • Good standards of cleanliness to be maintained, especially toilet facilities at stations and on trains, and the inside of trains • Rail industry staff to provide high quality customer service • A consistent, seven day a week operation of rail services. Where the railway is planned to be closed, passengers should be made aware of this when purchasing tickets. Passenger Service Levels Headlines • Reduce overcrowding and increase route capacity • Provide passengers with greater choice in terms of range of destinations, frequencies and time of travel • Minimum frequency of half hourly from the major stations on the most important connections: Norwich to London, Norwich to Cambridge and King’s Lynn to London, via Cambridge. • Maintain hourly services on Bittern and Wherry Lines (and ½ hourly peak- time Great Yarmouth services). In the medium term achieve, progressively, ½ hourly peak time services on Bittern Line, then ½ hourly services on all lines. • Maintain first arrivals in London before 0700 (Monday – Saturday) and 0800 (Sunday). Extend last service from London to 0030 departure (Monday to Saturday) and 1130 (Sunday) • First arrivals into Cambridge before 0700 (Monday – Saturday) 0800 (Sunday). Extend last service from Cambridge to 0030 departure (Monday to Saturday) and 1130 (Sunday). • First arrivals into Norwich and King’s Lynn (London lines) before 0700 (Monday to Saturday), 0800 (Sunday). Last departures from Norwich and King’s Lynn 0000 (Monday to Saturday) 2300 (Sunday) • First arrivals into Norwich, Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft (Bittern and Wherry Lines) before 0700 (Monday to Saturday) 0800 (Sunday).
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